November 5, 1999

OneNetNow.com, an innovative website, announced its formation with Board Chair Yusef Jackson and Board members, actor/activist Edward James Olmos, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., actor/activist Andrew Shue, baseball great Sammy Sosa, Kenneth "babyface" Edmonds, business leader Percy Sutton, business leader Carlton Jenkins, Producer Julio Caro and entertainment executive Tracey Edmonds at a press conference held at UCLA.

OneNetNow.com is a unique community site because it has been specifically designed to reflect the diversity of ideas and perspectives of the wide range of people that make up the global community. Jackson, Olmos and Shue, part of OneNetNow.com's prestigious board of directors, discussed the incredible growth of the Internet in people's everyday lives and the need for a truly diverse online community. The site is scheduled to launch in early 2000.

"The Internet was created as a place for people to communicate with each other regardless of age, gender, race or social status, but that is not always the case. OneNetNow.com is taking a leadership position and making a commitment to help provide the diverse, interactive communities online that reflect our own," said Edward James Olmos. "OneNetNow.com will be a powerful tool that enables people to gain new perspectives through community and I'm proud to be affiliated with their vision."

In addition to those in attendance, the board of directors also includes: Johnson Publishing Company executive Linda Johnson Rice and Monica Lozano, Publisher of La Opinion. OneNetNow.com's management team, financial resources, and its Board of Directors gives it the means to reach into various communities to bring people together online. The site will offer progressive technology, features and services that set it apart from other websites, making it the premier online community site.

"OneNetNow.com is a bold step to create an interethnic synergy which is key to harmony and growth," said Yusef Jackson, Chairman of the Board.

Users will be able to join communities at the OneNetNow.com site and interact and share ideas with other members with similar interests, or even create new communities of their own. Though the number and range of communities will ultimately be limitless, OneNetNow.com plans to launch with five communities including Entertainment, Sports, Faith, Politics and Money. Additional communities will be organized into a hierarchy of interest categories within the site. For example, subcategories such as "Hip Hop" and "Country/Western" may exist within the general Music community, while a "Fantasy Baseball" community may exist in the Sports community.

Each community will be governed by a council made up of elected members who will create and implement unique rules and guidelines for their own communities. Convenient, easy-to-use services and features like free email, on line publishing tools and a natural language search engine will aid users in navigating OneNetNow.com's communities and the web.

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